Beijing will still deliver on the 23 agreements it signed with Taiwan before it cut off official cross-strait communications. That’s the word from Zhang Zhijun, China’s government minister in charge of Taiwan policy.
Zhang was referring to the 23 cross-strait agreements signed under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (EFCA), a pact the two governments signed in 2010 to promote cross-strait trade.
During a recent meeting, Zhang reassured Taiwanese business representatives that China will respect all 23 of the agreements despite the recent halt of official communication between the two sides.
He said, however, that no new agreements can be signed unless Taiwan’s government acknowledges the 1992 Consensus.
The “1992 Consensus” refers to a tacit agreement reached between representatives of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in 1992. Under the consensus, there is only “one China” though each side may have its own interpretation of what that means.